Noise cancelling bluetooth headphones

[Charlotte]

On-ear noise cancelling bluetooth headphones - what do you recommend?  Extra points for good battery life and call-handling capabilities.  Not for on-bike use, these are for tube, desk and gadding-about-town.

I tested a pair of Bose QC35s yesterday, up against Julian's 7DayShop headphones. The Bose cans were obviously nicer, but not nearly 10x the cost nicer.  I was surprised at just how good the cheaper ones were.  I don't think I can stomach spending over three hundred quid on a product I see as almost disposable (I chew through in-ear phones at a set about every six months as and when they die). 

[Jon P]

I once went into the local hi-fi shop to ask about these, they said the only ones worth considering were the expensive Bose ones, and even these weren't perfect.  In the meantime, the appearance of the Walkman Zapper on the market continues to elude us!

[Gus]

Sony MDR-1000X are great, but expensive too 

for cheaper, but still a bit pricy I would say : Plantronics Backbeat Pro

[Kim]

I once went into the local hi-fi shop to ask about these, they said the only ones worth considering were the expensive Bose ones, and even these weren't perfect.

I've got expensive Bose ones (QC15, the first model with the *really good* active noise cancellation).  They're designed for habitual air travellers, so lack Bluetooth and run from a AAA battery, which means they're not what Charlotte is looking for.

The Bose noise cancellation is indeed excellent, as long as you understand that it's aimed at reducing repetitive machine noises.  It's truly spectacular at cutting out engine and fan noise (I'm sitting next to a fan heater with them and can only tell it's on because I can feel my feet), it makes a serious dent in the general hubbub of a big, acoustically poor, room full of lots of people, and does approximately nothing for Loud Howard making phone calls from the desk opposite you.  These (and the newer models) are the ones that autistic people are using (without an input signal) to hear conversation over background noise, because the improvement in signal-to-noise ratio is far greater than the attenuation of clear speech^[1].

Noise cancellation magic aside, they're not particularly good headphones for the price.  They seem a bit cheap and plastic, and the supplied cable^[2] has that iThing slimline I'm-going-to-break-expensively-at-the-least-convenient-moment-ness.  Like most headphones, they don't fit my head very well (to the point where I wouldn't walk around in public in them, for fear of them falling off), but that's clearly because I've got an unusually shaped head.  In order to block external sound they fully enclose the ear, which can get a bit sweaty and doesn't play nicely with long hair when it's untied (it also makes one-ear listening difficult).  And the sound quality is just "pretty good" - the frequency response seems decent, but they lack the awesome clarity of my late, lamented Sennheiser HD-25SPs.  (Pragmatically, given the way I use headphones, noise cancellation trumps audio performance in a quiet environment 95% of the time.)


_{[1] This isn't without problems:  If you're wearing noise cancelling headphones, you won't speak loudly enough to be heard properly over the background noise you can't hear.  Similarly, if the background noise stops, the person you're talking to is likely to reduce the loudness of their speech accordingly, and you'll not be able to hear properly because your ears are covered by headphones.
[2] I bodged the spare Bose connector onto the longer industrial steel-reinforced doesn't-care-if-you-drop-a-flightcase-on-it cable from the Sennheisers.}

[hubner]

I think when headphones stop working, it's almost certainly because there's something wrong with the cable (which can be repaired or replaced). A wireless headphones' going to last much longer, as long as you still take care of it and not throw it around.

Also if you know it cost £300, you might treat it more carefully!

[Kim]

I think when headphones stop working, it's almost certainly because there's something wrong with the cable (which can be repaired or replaced). A wireless headphones' going to last much longer, as long as you still take care of it and not throw it around.

It's trading off cable problems for battery and The Devil's Radio problems.  Agree that it's a net win compared to a typical set of consumer cans, but if the cable is engineered^[1] to be abused by DJs and sound technicians it's less clear cut (the cable from my Sennheisers outlasted two sets of pads and eventually one of the drivers).

On the gripping hand, a wireless connection is much more convenient if you're listening to a mobile device, or a habitual trundler of office chairs.


_{[1] First and foremost: Make it disconnect cleanly with slightly less force than it takes to pull the band off your head.  Secondly, making it out of a cable that isn't a complete arse to solder, so you can lop a bit off and fit a new plug if it gets dodgy at that end.}

[Dibdib]

I've had a pair* of Philips' £90 SHB8850NC cans for about a year now, and get used probably most days I'm in the office at some point.

Positives:
+ Cheap! At least compared to the lines of Bose or Sennheiser's offerings.
+ Battery life is probably 10-12 hours with the Bluetooth and ANC on.
+ Pretty comfy in my opinion, although YHeadMV.
+ Audio quality is pretty decent, although they're not particularly bass-y - especially with the ANC switched on.
+ The Bluetooth seems pretty solid and largely Just Works. I can't comment on the NFC pairing as I've never used it, but it's there.

Neutral:
~ Never had chance to compare the ANC with that from Bose, so can't comment on that either.

Negatives:
- I'm on my second pair, as the NC packed in on the first ones after about 10 months and some of the buttons became tempermental. Currys replaced them on the spot, no bother. I'm still erring on the "rogue dud" theory rather than a general lack of build quality.
- The microphone is up on the earpad so call quality isn't great, from the little I've tried. I definitely couldn't get it to work with Skype, too quiet.
- Echoing what The Kim said about the strengths/weaknesses of ANC - good for machine noise, less so for other sounds. Mine don't completely kill traffic noise as a pedestrian, but it helps, and as a car passenger they're lovely. For office noise, the way I describe it is that it feels like I've just got a bit more space around me than without them on.

[Charlotte]

Thanks all - some interesting thoughts.  Annoyingly, the more I look, the more I see folk using the Bose cans.  They are clearly the sine qua non of the ANC world and anything else is a pale imitation.  The question that remains for me goes along the lines of, 'does my already motorcycle-buggered hearing deserve audio this good?'

Hmmmm.

[Dibdib]

If I wasn't so far from That London I'd offer mine for a day or two. However, I remember in the big Currys near me there was a stand with display models of most of the ANC headphones, and a white noise generator overhead - maybe useful for comparison if the same is in a store near you?

[woollypigs]

If you wanna talk to your cans, as in phone calls etc. you need a boom mic, from what I understand, else as didbid says too quiet.

I'm looking too, so stalked your post of farcebook too.

I like the idea of Bluetooth and the ability to use cable when needed.

Just saw these, hmmmm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01JLIY9LM?vs=1

[Jaded]

it makes a serious dent in the general hubbub of a big, acoustically poor, room full of lots of people, and does approximately nothing for Loud Howard making phone calls from the desk opposite you.

I'm intrigued by the company you keep at work.

[Ben T]

Is there any reason why blue tooth ones aren't good for on a plane... You're allowed it nowadays once it's took off aren't you?

[Kim]

Is there any reason why blue tooth ones aren't good for on a plane... You're allowed it nowadays once it's took off aren't you?

I believe so.  You weren't when the QC-15 was designed, thobut.

[Dibdib]

On the basis that the FAA have officially changed their policy to allow Bluetooth during all phases of a flight, and I can't find anything Bluetooth-specific on the CAA website, I'm going for "use it until the cabin crew tell me not to". Or, to quote The West Wing...

We're flying in a Lockheed Eagle series L1011. It came off the line 20 months ago. It carries a Sim-5 Transponder tracking system. Are you telling me I can still flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?

[rafletcher]

, I'm going for "use it until the cabin crew tell me not to". Or, to quote The West Wing...

Which is generally during take-off and landing, in order that you are aware of your surroundings in case of emergency.

[Dibdib]

, I'm going for "use it until the cabin crew tell me not to". Or, to quote The West Wing...

Which is generally during take-off and landing, in order that you are aware of your surroundings in case of emergency.

But what's that got to do with whether my headphones use a bit of string or The Devil's Radio to get the sounds from my phone to my head? They don't have a problem with me using wired headphones gate-to-gate (and, from experience, don't have a problem using my Bluetooth ones gate-to-gate either).

[Steve GT]

I use these and think they are great:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00U5WV2BY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[rafletcher]

, I'm going for "use it until the cabin crew tell me not to". Or, to quote The West Wing...

Which is generally during take-off and landing, in order that you are aware of your surroundings in case of emergency.

But what's that got to do with whether my headphones use a bit of string or The Devil's Radio to get the sounds from my phone to my head? They don't have a problem with me using wired headphones gate-to-gate (and, from experience, don't have a problem using my Bluetooth ones gate-to-gate either).

I've frequently seen people requested to remove headphones - wired or otherwise - when the plane is taking off or landing. So it's about hearing whats around you, as opposed to wires or not.

[Kim]

Yes, but there also used to be a blanket ban on radio transmitters during flight, hence the earlier Bose models were designed specifically without one.

Molishers of avionics have learned about EMC since then.

[Charlotte]

I bought some Bose cans at the Apple Store in Washington last week on the basis that they were about the same figure in USD as we'd pay in GBP.  The flight home was soooo much nicer.

[Jaded]

They take USD in Tyne and Wear now? Are they next for an IndyRef 

[Mr Larrington]

They take USD in Tyne and Wear now? Are they next for an IndyRef 

They'll take anything.  Cowrie shells, Flanian Pobble Beads, Vietnamese Dong, you name it.

But not €uros.